Parkinson’s Disease is a movement disorder caused by the progressive loss of dopamine neurons in a brain-region called the substantia nigra (SN). Current treatments only relieve symptoms temporarily because they don't reverse what causes them: the loss of neurons. 

In a study recently published in Nature, researchers demonstrated that it is possible to reverse neuronal loss by converting astrocytes (helper brain cells) into neurons. They did so by injecting an astrocyte-targeting virus into the brains of mice. The simple virus suppressed the production of a protein called PTB, which blocks astrocytes from making neuronal proteins. 

With lower levels of PTB, these infected astrocytes could produce neuronal proteins, and became increasingly similar to neurons. Eventually, the former astrocytes were structurally and functionally indistinguishable from their neuronal counterparts! Following this conversion, researchers not only saw a significant restoration of dopamine neurons in the SN, but a full correction of movement symptoms in the mice. 

As bizarre as growing back a part of your brain sounds, the discovery of this new technique has transformed the idea of reversing Parkinson’s disease from a fantasy to a potential reality.